A POLICE officer accused of raping a woman and sexually assaulting another he met on Match.com was taking Viagra after struggling with impotence. Michael Darbyshire, 55, attacked his first victim following a first date at a pub when he drunk drove to her home and stripped completely naked, it is claimed. Worcester Crown Court heard […]
A POLICE officer accused of raping a woman and sexually assaulting another he met on Match.com was taking Viagra after struggling with impotence.
Michael Darbyshire, 55, attacked his first victim following a first date at a pub when he drunk drove to her home and stripped completely naked, it is claimed.
Worcester Crown Court heard he had earlier groped her in the beer garden of the White Hart pub in Fernhill Heath, Worcsester, before raping her the following day on November 9, 2018.
The West Mercia Police officer is also accused of sexually assaulting a second woman on August 29, 2019, after he met her on dating site Match.com.
She claimed he forcibly put her hands down her knickers “while making grunting noises” after being invited to her home.
Jurors were told after the women reported the incidents to police, officers searched Darbyshire’s home and found a packet of Viagra.
In his police interview on November 29, 2019, he admitted he had been taking medication for erectile dysfunction following the death of his partner.
Darbyshire told officers: “I do take something that’s herbal stuff I got from a Chinese place – but that tablet is rubbish.
“I take something for erectile dysfunction as when my partner died a few years ago it really knocked the stuffing out of me and my confidence went and I struggled to get an erection.
“Not always, just sometimes. The box of that had been found during the search of my accommodation.
“I think it’s called Medical Express on the internet. If you are suitable they can write to your GP but I have not been given this by my GP.”
He claimed he did not have sex with the woman accusing him of him rape because he had been tired and that they had “cuddled and gone to sleep” instead.
Darbyshire said he began receiving threatening emails from the first alleged victim when he told her he didn’t want a relationship.
He described the woman as “clingy” and “hot-headed” but said they left on good terms when he told her he wasn’t looking for a long-term partner.
Darbyshire added: “I had a number of threatening communications by email from her.
“She stated she would cost me my job and ‘get me done’ and just because I was a police officer I couldn’t get away with it.”
Discussing the evening he reportedly attacked her, he told Detective Sergeant Donna Hutchinson during his interview: “She knew straight away I was a copper.
“I was drinking. I think it was lager and I went to the pub around about 7pm and I probably had four or five pints.
“I am usually absolutely fine and I hadn’t had anything to drink before I went in.
“I did ask her if she would like to go out as we seemed to be getting on okay and it just seemed like a nice thing to do.
“She wanted an ideal kind of relationship. I think she had had a rough ride and I said we’re not all the same.
“She told me where the bedroom was and I followed and she undressed herself and I undressed myself and we got into bed and we were kissing and cuddling.
“I was never disrespectful to her. And there was nothing to incite anything she hadn’t wanted to happen happened.
“There was no feeling of uncomfortableness; it just felt normal lying there and talking.
“We just cuddled and went to sleep. I didn’t touch her or anything at all. She tried to have sex with me but I didn’t want it I was tired.
“On Sunday morning there was an atmosphere and things just changed. Something didn’t feel right and I felt uncomfortable and she was quite short and offish.
“We were talking about going out in the afternoon and straight away I said I can’t guarantee it.
“I got the impression that she wanted more and I wasn’t looking for a relationship and I got the impression it was something she wanted.
“It was happening too quickly for me and I felt a bit uncomfortable as I had already been told she was a bit hot-headed.
“I thought I’d play it cool and don’t promise anything and leave it at that. We left on fairly good terms.
“She got quite nasty, quite quickly. I thought it was wrong to give her false hope.
“I think she texts me back saying “I don’t f***ing care if you’re a copper, you aren’t going to get away with it, you wait and see” or something like that.
“It scared me to a point because of what she was saying. I even told my colleague about this text the morning after and she said don’t respond and don’t answer but keep them in case you need them later on.”
The court was previously told Darybshire had attacked the women to demonstrate “control, power and to satisfy his own sexual cravings and demands.”
He denies one count of rape and five counts of sexual assault.
The trial, which is expected to last six days, continues.
